How To Ensure a Bad Hunting Season

Now that the fall season is over for most of us, some have learned how to ensure a bad hunting season with some valuable lessons.

We’ve all read plenty of blogs, articles, and books explaining the best ways to go about guaranteeing a golden hunting season. But what about a list of all the things we can do to ensure a bad season?

What about a checklist of all the things you need to do if you want to have the worst and least successful hunting season imaginable? Why does no one seem to write guides from that angle?

To be honest, the answer to that question is pretty simple: it’s because no one actually wants to have a dreadful hunting season. However, that doesn’t mean that a blueprint for a bad season would be an entirely worthless thing. On the contrary, where hunters may spurn advice from a “guide to a good season” blog, they might take notice if a few of their common practices show up on a check list for bad season safeguards.

So without further ado, we present a step-by-step guide to setting yourself up for a record-book-worthy bad hunting season. Happy hunting failure! (But not really: we actually hope you will use this list to become a better hunter and achieve great success.)

Do exactly what you did last year

If a deer hunting property or a flooded marsh brought you great success last year, it will undoubtedly do the same again, right? Wrong. The hunting world is no place for the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. You have to approach each season as its own entity and decide what you will have to do to fill your tag under this season’s unique considerations.

Don’t scout your properties or use trail cameras

You don’t need to make hunting season preparations: hunting season begins on opening day. Wrong again! If you want to have a successful hunting season, you will be keeping an eye on your key properties – using both in-person scouting and trail cameras – well before hunting season is underway. This way, you can find out where the game is heading, how they are behaving, where they are feeding, and more. You will also be able to find out if a herd or flock has been hit hard by predation or disease – information you need to know early so you can seek out other spots for this fall’s hunts.

Invite everyone and their mother to hunt your property

Trust us when we say that it’s okay to be selfish when it comes to hunting season. While it can be nice to do a few buddies a favor by giving them permission to hunt your property – especially if they’ve done favors for you in the past – you don’t want to bring your entire hunting club to your property. Doing so will bring unnecessary pressure upon the herds in the area, costing you most of the deer sightings and almost all of the kills you might have notched during the season.

Miss out on perfect hunting days due to other obligations

Let’s make something clear: during deer or duck season, you are a wild card. Don’t make plans and don’t make promises with your time. The last thing you want is to be stuck at an uncomfortable family reunion on the one day of perfect hunting conditions all season.